Joe Black, star of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, is raffling off his infamous H&M dress to raise money for a local HIV charity.
The pink dress, worn when the drag queen returned to compete in the fifth episode, caused RuPaul to rant: “I don’t want to see any f****** H&M.”
His outrage at the “off the rack” dress went viral and he termed it “a huge disappointment”, ordering the queen to “make it something special”.
Do you love raffles? Do you love helping charity? Do you love fashion that can evoke emotion in television hosts?
I am raffling off my infamous *whispers* H&M – dress for Sussex Beacon. Helping people living with HIV in the Sussex area 🖤https://t.co/yujgptkOJM pic.twitter.com/coFo5Ow7RD
— Joe Black (@misterjoeblack) March 26, 2021
So in response, Black has donated the dress to charity.
He tweeted: “Do you love fashion that can evoke emotion in television hosts? I’m raffling off my infamous *whispers* H&M dress [and] helping people living with HIV in the Sussex area.”
“The Fagin gloves are not included,” he added.
The once-maligned frock has come into its own and Sussex Beacon, a charity that provides care and support for people with HIV, sold more than 800 raffle tickets in just a few hours after it went live.
The charity said: “We are blown away by the response to this! Massive thanks again to Joe Black.”
We've already sold 500+ tickets to our raffle and it's been just 2 hours! Joe Black – amazing work! 😀
Posted by The Sussex Beacon on Friday, March 26, 2021
Joe tweeted that all the proceeds would go to the charity and there would be no split or percentage for him.
Tickets are £2.50 with a maximum of one million available.
The shocking pink high-collar dress which Joe teamed with black boots and long, black gloves, raised questions about affordability for haute couture gowns during a pandemic.
RuPaul’s Drag Race UK aired on BBC3 earlier this year.